Madrid Private Tour: Palacio Real to Parque del Retiro

Buen Retiro Park, Madrid

The Buen Retiro Park has some of Madrid’s best gardens and is a favourite retreat of locals.

The Buen Retiro Park has some of Madrid’s best gardens and is a favourite retreat of locals. It was laid out in 1631 as a royal park, and opened to the general public in 1868.

Highlights of the El Retiro park are the Bosque del Recuerdo or Grove of Remembrance - a monument to the victims of the Madrid 3-11 terrorist bombings, a mural of Dante’s Inferno, El Angel Caido in the Rosaleda rose garden, and the Crystal Palace, a large structure entirely made of glass. La Fuente Egyptica is a monument with a triangular façade that has two Sphinxes on platforms over its gable, both facing a column in the middle that was once crowned by a statue of the Egyptian sun god Ra. In a niche under the column is the Tripona, an Egyptian bust on a jar atop a block with a tap and basin, that is rumored to contain hidden treasures. The Cason del Buen Retiro is the study and library attached to the Prado Museum, where you can see the stunning ceiling fresco The Apotheosis of the Spanish Monarchy (or The Triumph of the Order of the Golden Fleece) by Giordano in the Hall of the Ambassadors.

It is the perfect place to rest during a sunny day, or take part in the drum circles around the statue of Alphonso XII on summer Sunday evenings. Boating over the large artificial lake Estanque is a popular activity for both tourists and locals. On weekends, street performers including musicians and tarot readers line up in the park to entertain visitors. There are several puppet shows for children as well.

A massive roundabout at the intersection of Calle de Alcala and Paseo del Prado, this plaza houses one of Madrid's emblems, the Fountain of Cibeles, which portrays the Roman goddess of fertility sitting upon a chariot pulled by two lions

A private museum of contemporary art and culture that is particularly well-known for the 'vertical garden' by Patrick Blanc installed on a wall in front of the museum, as well as the quite special architecture of the building itself